October 15, 2013 // 7:34 pm - We've all heard of the dreaded PS3 YLOD (Yellow Light of Death) syndrome, but today a photo surfaced showing a demo PS4 console overheating and displaying what has been dubbed the Red Line of Death (PS4 RLOD) followed by Sony responding.

To quote: The picture was taken at a PS4 event in Spain and posted by Elotrolado member Homer J. Simpson in his report (via elotrolado.net/hilo_playstation-4_1864860_s36130#p1733944694) of the event. Here are his complete updated comments (roughly translated from Spanish):

“In terms of sound, practically none, you can hear the fan if you listened closely but nothing exaggerated. they had ventilated consoles and others put in enclosures completely closed that were running from 9am without stopping (we got there at 18:00 in the evening). they were running fine and were quite warm on the surface but nothing like our current generation consoles.

The only exception to that was one console that was completely enclosed in an acrylic case, it was showing a red light (where there would typically be a blue light) and there was a message on the screen that said the console’s temperature was too high. the Acrylic case was opened and within minutes the error message went away and the light went back to its normal color.

These consoles were test units, they seemed fully capable in every way.”

Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida has responded via Twitter, as follows:

Joshua Eldridge (JoshEldridge016): yosp is the red line of death on the PS4 true

Shuhei Yoshida (yosp): JoshEldridge016 not true

We’re not entirely sure why he would deem the story “not true” since there is photographic proof. Maybe only devkit models of the PS4 contain the temperature monitoring features. We stand by this story and, hopefully, there will be further updates forthcoming.

Finally, below are some PS4 RLOD (Red Line of Death) videos via YouTube:

Just a few days after the previous PS4 Red Line of Death (PS4 RLOD) report, today another video surfaces of a PlayStation 4 freezing leaving some speculating whether the system has overheating and stability problems.

To quote: "Footage of PS4 freezing, apparently after heating up while running, has popped up online. The video comes from a French outlet called Gamekyo on livestream, while they are demonstrating the game Knack.

It is a brief minute and a half video, showing two presenters talking while a cutscene from the game plays out. At this point, the system is offscreen, and has apparently been opened up. One presenter notices that the system is emitting heat and places his hands near it, and the other does the same and concurs. They talk to a Sony person offscreen, and then go on a few more seconds like nothing happened.

And then, close to the middle of it, the game starts freezing. One presenter takes a long glance at the system, and then glances to the screen. The game starts moving again, but the framerate dips completely. They try to go home, and then enter back in, but this does not fix the problem. Finally, they leave the game completely and reenter, and this is where the clip ends.

A few days ago, when the Red Line of Death issue 1st came up, Shuhei Yoshida was asked about it and he curtly replied it was not true."

Some related Tweets via Gamekyo:

The PS4 was actually placed in a box under the TV. There was heat going out from the box, but the PS4 seemed to be OK.

The PS4 seems to have a good ventilation system, the environment becomes very hot though if it's in a closed box.

Some PlayStation 4 Thermal Images (via planetextech.com/profiles/blogs/playstation-4-thermal-images) are available HERE with details as follows, to quote:

With today being the launch of the Sony PlayStation 4, I figured I'd take some infrared shots of it in action. Using the new FLIR E8 Thermal Camera with MSX, I've got some great shots to look at. Remember, computers and electronics get hot, but this will show you how the PS4 handles and vents that heat.

"Bottom" side of the Playstation 4 Just after unpacking and running the firmware update.

"Top Side" of the PS4, just after unpacking and running firmware update (on for about 5-7 minutes at this point). Note that the top part of the PS4 in this picture has a different emissivity than the lower, so, the temp measurements on the top won't be as accurate.

The PlayStation 4 has been on for about 10-12 minutes at this point as I move around the menus, and start adding my PSN profile.

This is after 5 minutes of standby, with a controller plugged in for charge.

The top part of the PS4 after about 10 minutes of Killzone.

The "bottom" side after 10 minutes of Killzone.

Here you can see the vents heating up to around 121 F

30 minutes later, the top surface of the PS4 is still holding around 114 F degrees at its peak.

And finally, the bottom side of the Playstation is at 121 F.

The vents however, are now up to 143 F after 30 minutes of running Killzone, which is totally a reasonable spec!

UPDATE: A few folks asked for thermal of it lying flat - these two photos are about after 20 minutes of playing Killzone.

Highest temp read on the vent is around 126 F, a little cooler than when it was vertical, but the play time was a little bit shorter. I'll be taking more photos as the weekend progresses, so keep checking back!

UPDATE 2: The hottest the vents have gotten in its flat position while playing Killzone, appear to be around 138/140 F, so a few degrees cooler, but close to where it was when it was vertical. The top surface still stays at a consistent 110-114 F.

UPDATE 3: Been playing for over 3 hours now, with the PS4 comfortable in my home theater cabinet in its flat position. The Playstation remains a little under the temperature it was when I was around 30 minutes in, which is around ~133 F/56 C.

Finally, below is a picture of a PS4 demo station error code when a game (Battlefield 4) crashes taken at Madrid Games Week alongside a video of a PlayStation 4 demo unit glitching:

If I was Sony, I'd be taking credit for how well the PS4 handled this. Shutting down to avoid damage in high-heat conditions, then starting right back up in seconds once ventilation is restored without getting damaged is exactly what the console should do.

that's what they call brutal stress test, to be honest the test done in this device is much lighter than brutal stress test done in PS3 (where they put it on Sauna while playing a game) fortunately PS3 was able to survive that 24h test.

Locking game consoles in airtight cases is the WORST possible use case, never do this. They need to breathe to stay cool. Really this is like putting it in your fishtank and then wondering why it's not working